93 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·14 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Wahkiakum County, Washington. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Riverine flooding and localized inundation associated with Pacific frontal systems, atmospheric rivers, and rising snow levels dominate Wahkiakum County, which recorded 41 flood events in the NOAA Storm Events database over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include localized river flooding along the Grays River during a strong low-pressure system in February 2025, and minor river and urban flooding driven by heavy rains from an atmospheric river in December 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced the highest volume of claims with 76 filed, resulting in an average payout of $21,839 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 15 claims with an average payout of $22,099 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in designated flood zones such as Zone A and Zone X, particularly those near rivers and low-lying coastal areas susceptible to winter storms and heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Wahkiakum County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
76 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 12 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1996, with 23 claims and $270,223 paid, the year of High Winds, Severe Storms and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
7 NOAA storm reports from Wahkiakum County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Washington flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 14 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Nov 3, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-line Winds, Floodin | Dec 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 29, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides | Jan 30, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, And A T | Dec 1, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 41 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 4, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 11, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 6, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Nov 15, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 25, 2025. A strengthening upper-level low and an associated strong low pressure system at the surface tracked just off the Pacific Northwest coast leading to a period of high winds. Heavy snow also fell across the south Washington Cascades during this period in addition to localized flooding on the Grays River near the coast. The frontal passage during the early afternoon hours of Feb 24th allowed for a period of isolated s…
Flood · Dec 26, 2024. A strong cold frontal boundary followed by an unsettled period of lower snow-level and the arrival of a potent secondary low pressure system brought heavy snow to the Cascades and high winds to the coast.
Flood · Dec 18, 2024. The passage of a warm frontal boundary and mature surface low facilitated high winds along the coast into the coast range. This aforementioned frontal boundary also brought a rise in snow levels increasing river levels, especially those following out of the Willapa Hills where localized river flooding was present.
Flood · Dec 4, 2023. A strong atmospheric river brought heavy rains on December 5th which led to minor river and urban flooding across portions of southwest Washington. Clark County and Cowlitz County saw landslides, along with minor river flooding, including the Cowlitz River at Kelso and the Grays River near Rosburg. Portions of the Willapa Hills and south Washington Cascades received 12 to 16 inches of rain over a 5 day period begi…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Wahkiakum County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.